Bethesda today released an all-new game play video for DOOM (2016) showcasing the exciting content now available in DOOM’s Free Update 5.

DOOM offers a completely re-imagined and brand new game world that was primarily created as part of the multi-player PvP Shooter genre, though the game has a very deep and entertaining single-player story-mode campaign as well.

Multiplayer Improvements

Bots: Available on original multiplayer maps in Team Deathmatch and Deathmatch game modes.

Infernal Run: A new competitive game mode where teams fight for control of the ball and score in the opponent’s goal.

Multiplayer Rank now extends to Echelon 11: once you reach the new highest ranking, you’ll unlock the signature DOOM Marine Armor (Praetor Suit)!

SnapMap Improvements

Campaign Extension: More elements from the campaign, allowing you to play and create even more campaign-like experiences.

Praetor Armor: Play as the DOOM Marine in the DOOM Marine Armor (Praetor Suit).

New Theme: Lazarus Lab themed modules and props.

To celebrate all of the new multi-player additions in Free Update 5, Double XP will be available for DOOM’s multi-player content, ending at 12pm ET / 5pm GMT / 6pm CET on 12th December.

Lastly, Bethesda has announced that Bloodfall will be available worldwide on December 15th for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. Turn invisible as the Spectre Pinky demon across three new maps in the third and final DLC for DOOM.

In celebration, they’ve released the new trailer (embedded below) showcasing all three action-packed tables in the pack.

Bethesda Pinball is available now for Pinball FX2 on Xbox One, Xbox 360, Windows 10, and Steam, Zen Pinball 2 on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Vita, and hitting the Zen Pinball app on iOS, Android, and Amazon mobile platforms this Thursday. Additionally, a free to play standalone Bethesda Pinball app will be available on mobile platforms at a later date.

Introduction

NASCAR Heat Evolution is a racing simulation and sports video game that was developed solely by veteran games developer Monster Games, being published by Dusenberry Martin Racing as the freshman project for the publisher.

Released in North America on 13 September 2016 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows, it’s position as the follow-on to 2015′s NASCAR ’15 Victory Edition is a bit disingenuous as it is not actually a direct sequel to that title. It is also the first NASCAR series game to be undertaken by Monster since its very well received NASCAR: Dirt to Daytona (2002) was released.

Drivers get off to a rolling start with the newest entry to both the NASCAR main series and the NASCAR: Heat sub-series with NASCAR: Heat Evolution brought to us by Monster Games as sole developer.

This is the latest in a rather long line of titles in the NASCAR games series and sub-series – for a size perspective consider that the NASCAR series consists of the following major series’ broken out by platform — NASCAR Racing, NASCAR Heat, NASCAR Revelations, NASCAR Thunder (and a half-dozen one-offs):

Atari / C=64 / Other:

Richard Petty’s Talladega

Days of Thunder

NASCAR Red Line.

NES / SNES / N64 / GameCube / 3DS / Wii / Wii U:

Bill Elliott’s NASCAR Challenge

Kyle Petty’s No Fear Racing

NASCAR Thunder 2003

NASCAR: Dirt to Daytona

NASCAR 2005: Chase for the Cup

NASCAR Kart Racing

NASCAR The Game: 2011

NASCAR Unleashed

NASCAR The Game: Inside Line.

PlayStation / PlayStation 2 / PSP/PSV / Xbox / Xbox 360 / Xbox One:

NASCAR Racing

NASCAR 98

NASCAR 99

NASCAR 2000

NASCAR Rumble

NASCAR 2001

NASCAR Heat

NASCAR Racers

NASCAR Thunder 2002

NASCAR Heat 2002

NASCAR Thunder 2003

NASCAR: Dirt to Daytona

NASCAR Thunder 2004

NASCAR 2005: Chase for the Cup

NASCAR 06: Total Team Control

NASCAR 07

NASCAR 08

NASCAR 09

NASCAR The Game: 2011

NASCAR Unleashed

NASCAR The Game: Inside Line

NASCAR ’14

NASCAR ’15

NASCAR ’15 Victory Edition

NASCAR Heat Evolution.

Windows PC:

NASCAR Racing

NASCAR Racing 2

NASCAR Racing 1999 Edition

NASCAR Revolution

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Racing

NASCAR Racing 3

NASCAR 2000

NASCAR Legends

NASCAR Heat

NASCAR Racers

NASCAR Racing 4

NASCAR Thunder 2002

NASCAR Racing 2002 Season

NASCAR Thunder 2003

NASCAR Racing 2003 Season

NASCAR Thunder 2004

NASCAR SimRacing

NASCAR The Game: 2013

NASCAR ’14

NASCAR ’15

NASCAR ’15 Victory Edition

NASCAR Heat Evolution.

What we are talking about is a game series with sub-series that includes 23 titles for PC split among 8 unique series and for Consoles collectively it spans 25 titles among 12 unique series. That’s a massive game series and when you consider it spans 17 Game Development Studios? Whew!

So in consideration of all of that, and the fact that it also happens to be the first title among the entire line(s) that was the sole product of Monster Games studio team, who took on the role as the official sole development studio, that’s significant.

It’s even more significant when you know that the Dusenberry Martin Racing games development studio was actually created specifically to seek out and obtain the license for NASCAR: Heat Evolution, that means any games beyond that owe their existence to NASCAR.

NHE features three points-of-view for racing goodness: a Chase Camera for a more video-game arcade feel, the Driver's Seat for a more racing simulation feel, and a Hood View for drivers who don't like their vision blocked but still want to feel like they are inside the car.

As noted above, Dusenberry Martin Racing is a partnership between Rich Garcia (Monster Games), co-founder Ed Martin, and Tom Dusenberry specifically to obtain the NASCAR Heat license. The trio comes to this project with some impressive experience behind their belts – Dusenberry is the former CEO of Hasbro Interactive, and was connected to Atari’s game division, to Games.com and was closely associated with Monopoly, Trivial Pursuit, Frogger, Star Wars, Roller Coaster Tycoon and hundreds of other well-know game brands including NASCAR.

Ed Martin is well-known in the video game world having been involved in or spear-headed the transition for NASCAR auto racing as a video game from the first Arcade cabinets to the present-day Console and PC platforms. As part of the Papyrus Design Group – which was the first developer and publisher to take on the NASCAR license for video games, for more than 20-years Martin has filled a role as part of the executive leadership for all 4 NASCAR licensees — Papyrus, Atari / Hasbro Interactive, EA Sports / EA Games, and Eutechnyx.

It was Martin’s conviction that the franchise would not only translate well onto console but would excel in that environment that initially took the game series’ to Nintendo, then Sony and finally Microsoft. But the best feather in his cap in this regard was his personal convictions – and ability to convince the industry – that NASCAR racing was a Sport, not simply a fit subject to make a game out of.

The mostly silent partner in the team that created Dusenberry Martin Racing is Rich Garcia, who happens to be the President of Monster Games. While Garcia was not alone in the desire to obtain the license from NASCAR for the Heat series when EA Sports ended up losing it, it was largely Garcia who pushed the team behind its development to make the statistical side a major element in the game and its play.

The signature tracks of NASCAR combined with a faithful recreation of the logos, sponsor splash, and visual paraphernalia that fully represents the NASCAR whip are all present and accounted for.

Clearly the partnership between the new Dusenberry Martin Racing licensee and publishing entity and Monster Games as developing studio is based upon their combined prior experience with the Heat sub-series of NASCAR games. The decision to develop for console as well as Windows PC caught more than a few fans by surprise – but as it turns out it shouldn’t have, because the genre is proven to translate well to the Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

At least part of the reason behind the short-falls of the game with respect to between-race social content and the establishment of a voice for the game is down to the decision in early 2015 not to use Eutechnyx’s code, eventually realizing that in the interest of both development and the fans it would be better for the studio to start over from scratch. Unfortunately that also meant abandoning the well-developed and defined social side of the game series – and the failure on the part of the studio to designate a team to take over that part of development. It was a decision that would come back to haunt them after the initial release.

Significant emphasis was placed upon the dev team responsible for Heat Evolution to faithfully portray the signature tracks as well as the look and feel of those surfaces that none of the teams responsible for the game had the time or inclination to look at elements outside their own areas of responsibility – and the result is a game that, while it has all of the right technical elements in play, falls well short of the social and fan-based concerns that end up sticking out like a sore thumb in the finished product.

Game Play

At the very start of the game you get the definite sense that the wizards who created it spent more than just a little time around the tracks and racing teams because they don’t mess around with the whole fan dynamic, or try to show how popular the sport is and how enthusiastic its fans are. That’s an effect we definitely saw with the implementation of NASCAR in the Forza Motorsport 6 expansion. And when we consider that it was inevitable for that comparison to crop up, it’s good that we deal with it at the start rather than deep into the review.

The NASCAR expansion in Forza has as much to do with the NASCAR experience presented in this game as jet fighters have to do with airliners. Sure, they are both planes, and sure, they fly through the air at very fast speeds, but that is all they have in common.

The first indication that this is a no-frills sport-focused approach is when you arrive at the main menu to discover you get five choices here: Race, Challenges, Championship, Career, and Multiplayer. There is also an Options selection but we can ignore that for now.

The Race selection allows you to pick your favorite racing personality and their car and go out on the track – which while it is fun, is not what most gamers came here for. Challenges are just what they sound like – and while they are something all players will eventually want to do, like the Championship and Multiplayer selections, that will come in time after building some skills.

So what does that leave? Career Mode obviously – and as that is the very heart of the game itself that’s a good place for us to begin building the foundation for our review.

The "Dance of the Pit" has long been described as a ballet of balance by the journos who cover NASCAR - and the display in NHE fully does that justice!

Before we get to that, it is crucial to understand that this game assumes you are already a fan of the sport. What we mean by that is that there is a presumption that you are already aware of how it works, how and why the drivers pick the manner in which they approach and race through corners, where the sweet spot is for straight runs, and in general how to get past other drivers on the track.

That’s very basic information along the same lines as say a baseball fan knowing what RBI means, or understanding how in certain circumstances a batter can actually have 4-strikes and not be automatically out. It’s the sort of foundation level of the sport that a real fan is just going to know because it is important to them to know it.

If you don’t already know all the info that a non-fan rightly thinks esoteric, then it would be a very good idea to watch and observe the NPC racers during this Practice Session and do what they do. By taking that approach I shaved off a full half-minute for my best track lap time – and when you consider that NASCAR teams measure improvement in hundredths of a second? That is a major improvement indeed and it was obtained by watching the other NPC drivers – so the assertion that a game like this cannot be properly played or enjoyed by a gamer who is not already a fan is ludicrous.

When you select Career Mode from the main menu you are prompted to complete a whole set of hand-shaking bits in which you choose your character avatar (looks, car maker, number, gender – you know that sort of thing). Sadly most of that is pointless since you don’t end up seeing your character after you create it.

Despite that fact, the avatar builder actually has a pretty impressive selection of choices that can be used to make your driver look like you – unless you happen to be female, in which case you really just get two choices – a no nonsense tomboy-girl stereotype or an Orange is the New Black character.

There is no better way to spend a Sunday morning - except you know, Church - than sitting in the stands at a NASCAR race. We're just saying.

Compared to the number of presets for guy drivers, the way that they implemented girl drivers is pathetic – I have met Danica Patrick in real life and she does NOT look like any of those presets. In real life she has a closer resemblance to the character of Lorelei Gilmore (from the TV show The Gilmore Girls) than she does the typical female racer in the game. She is also a very intelligent woman who easily maintains her end of a conversation about subjects other than racing – just saying what you see is not always what you get in sports like NASCAR Racing.

So after you pick your avatar and maybe customize it to look like you, you’re introduced to your team manager – who tells you his name is Dave (Hey Dave!) and explains the reality of your situation – you are a new team, it costs a LOT of money to participate in this sport, and you really REALLY need to attract a sponsor like yesterday to provide for the needing funding and all that goes with it.

Good news though – according to Dave you can do that by finishing in the Top-30 for two races – and while that is not quite on the level of, say, winning the next two races, it’s still a pretty respectable accomplishment all things considered. Once you get past that point, you get to Race. Sort of.

What we mean by that is that you get presented with a Practice Session at the Kansas Speedway that has a one-hour clock on it. During that session you will have the opportunity to learn what the racing experience feels like, deal with other cars on the track, and learn how to make pit-stops during your racing practice during which you are permitted to make a limited number and type of repairs, refuel your car, and have the tyres replaced if that needs to be done.

You can also adjust the settings for the car – a process they call Tuning – that reveals just how each choice can impact the performance of your car – so if you are not already a NASCAR racing champion, this is an opportunity you should not blow off because it is intended to provide you with the opportunity to play with the car a little, to experiment with what each of the settings does, and if you make a proper go of the opportunity, you should soon find out just how hard it is to do this job.

Controls are pretty standard and the information you get is rudimentary – during the races the default setup provides you with the following information: an analog tachometer to indicate in real-time how the engine is running, a digital speedometer that gives you the real-time speed you are traveling at, a gear position indicator to indicate what gear you are presently in, and a timer to display the elapsed time for the race.

Thanks to the Coast-to-Coast network of NASCAR approved tracks we can start the day with Georgia Pines, experience New Hampshire Red Oaks, lean against Michigan White Pines, and spend the evening in the shade of California Palm Trees. Gotta love the NASCAR Tree Watcher's Club, right?

Technically that is all the information you really need in the right-hear / right-now of racing game play. In reality that is NOT all the information you need – which is why you have some options available to you that only require the use of your right thumb.

Specifically, while racing, you can use your right thumb to activate the following by pressing the buttons one or two times. The different displays you can thus obtain are the following:

So you have all of the information you need to race and, when you add the lap timer display that shows you your best lap time and last lap time you have the information that tells you about your performance for the current race – but what you do not have is the information that sums up your career – for that we need to look at numbers between races.

One of the most important things that NASCAR: Heat Evolution teaches the gamer is that the actual process of crossing the finish line is not the be-all or the end-all of the sport. In fact the sport and your position in it is actually a very complicated series of stats.

You read that correctly – stats. Numbers that present your driving history and position as pure math. Because success in NASCAR sports racing is not measured by being the guy who crosses the finish line first (actually yes, it sort of is but ignore that for now) as what rules the sport for each team and driver is actually the standing of a driver within a season. That’s why most teams have more than one car and driver active in the sport each season.

Once you start the actual career racing you will quickly learn why drivers don’t just “go faster” so they can win all the time. NASCAR racing is a balance between the condition of the car, the track it is on, and conservation of resources combined with driver skills and their independent knowledge of both the track and the car they are driving.

You can only pit so many times, you are limited to the number of tyres you can replace, and wasting fuel eats into your overall time and score. So finding that balance between what you are doing and how you do it is key to game play success in this game.

My Take

NASCAR: Heat Evolution is one of those odd-duck sort of games that come along every few years and that — initially at least — get declared as total rubbish from the start. And usually not for no good reason either!

When NHE was first released, the game had serious issues In fact it was total rubbish – but that was to be only a temporary situation and that’s important to note here. While it still has some of the issues that left reviewers – and players – feeling let down, I have to admit that the development team has done a LOT to address those issues. In fact there is that one thing that the game does not have – and that is a studio, publisher, or dev team unwilling to listen to the gamers and fans, or act upon their criticism of the game.

You’re about to find out how important that is, and see examples of how that alone can make all the difference in the world. You see, when a game launches in very rough shape – as was the case with NASCAR: Heat Evolution — you can easily understand how a lot of reviewers could declare that it had been released before it was finished. The question is, were they right?

The answer at this point really doesn’t matter, mostly because the game that was released is NOT the same game we are playing today. The wizards on its dev team not only got behind the game and pushed, they did something you don’t see all that often – they focused upon and dialed in tight to the player chat boards, and then fished them for issues that needed to be fixed NOW.

Then – breaking every rule and the very low expectations of the fan base – they created a list of the most significant of the issues with the game and proceeded to implement fixes that almost instantly elevated NHE into a new category. What am I talking about?

The game was originally released in September 2016 to massive fanfare. If you happen to be a fan of the NASCAR sport there was practically nowhere you could look in August and early September that did not include at least some form of advertisement or a type of advocacy for the game. It was on the top of every NASCAR announcer’s tongue, and it was about as over-hyped as any game we’ve ever seen (and we’ve been doing this for nearly two decades!).

Opportunity is where a driver finds it - though a thick cloud of smoke is a pretty good clue for where to find it...

So that being the case, the fact that at launch it was, shall we say, less than impressive, and well… The thing is, since that release in September the wizards behind the game have been crazy-busy fixing and adjusting it! I mean really, in that brief period they have released three major updates / patches – which if you are not aware is a full-year of updates for most games.

That effort can arguably be placed at the feet of the fan base, as the updates were mostly created to either fix issues that the players pointed out, or add and modify other aspects of the game to bring it more in-line with the fan base expectations.

Maybe it was a mistake to send review copies out right away – but either way they did, and the reviewer community played the game, and then reviewed it. It was a bloody experience for Monster Games, that I can say with confidence.

NASCAR: Heat Evolution is the first title in the series that Monster developed alone – and I am not making any excuses for them on that account mates, I am just stating a fact.

In the process of creating the game it’s clear that they focused hard on the sport of it – the cars, the driving experience, in essence the game. But they did that with a blind eye towards the niceties that players expect to be present in what is supposed to be a AAA game. The reviewer community dialed into the absence of that content and did so brutally. As we should.

The important thing here is that, when the first major update and patch arrived for NHE, it included fixes for a lot of the problems that the gamer community and reviewers revealed.

That was important because it corrected short-sighted matters like failing to include the costs of the various upgrades in the Team Menu – so that the player had at least some ideas about what was going to be required to obtain the various upgrades – upgrades that really in the end ARE the difference between you and Jimmie Johnson in this game.

Let’s put that in perspective here. The upgrade path is attached to the Team Facilities, so in the end, when the player has committed to all of the upgrades, here is what they get per-tier, and what it costs:

Tier 1 – Garage Space

Tier 2 – Engine Shop

Tier 3 – Machine Shop

Tier 4 – Fabrication Shop

Under each Tier there are four special items or facilities you need to purchase, each of which has its own impact on your character and car, and each series of which gets increasingly more and more expensive in terms of cost.

The start of each race is the rare opportunity in which we actually get to SEE our character.

Take Tier 1 for an example – the Garage Space itself costs you $10K, and under that you find the following (with the improvements listed):

Garage Space (Shop Expansion) $10K

Basic Milling (1% HP Improvement) $20K

Pipe Bender (2% Grip Improvement) $35K

Stamping Equipment (1.75% Airflow Improvement) $50K

CAD Software (1.5% HP Improvement) $75K

So for the initial expense of $10K to unlock Tier 1 you obtain 2.5% HP Improvement + 2% Grip Improvement + 1.75% Air Flow Improvement for a total cost (including the Garage Space itself) of $190K.

The other Tiers are similar – just more expensive – but then you needed something to spend your winnings and sponsor earnings on anyway, right?

Just like in real NASCAR the science of racing applies in the game. Your Qualification Run is critically important because it determines your starting location in the pack. That is important because the average young and new racer is expected to improve their position in a short race of, say, five laps, by around 6 to 7 positions. So if you started at position 33 you should finish the race at least in position 27.

If there are accidents or another driver has bad luck and you manage to stay clear of the pile, you could even do better than that. But the point is that the odds makers know that you should come out of the race six or so slots lower than your starting point.

So the primary difference between you and the three blokes who win this race is down to a combination of driving ability and track knowledge true – but an even more significant measure – what is ultimately a more crucial difference – is the team faculties and the capabilities that they bring with them.

When you have started Career Mode and are around 10 or so races in, that is the ideal time for you to back out and change to the Race Mode. By now you know the frustration of starting last all the time, and barely making a dent into the Pack, and you are probably wondering why that is? When you race games like Forza that does not happen. Why?

The reason is actually simple: Tech Levels.

When you first start out in career you your times are among the lowest, and when you race the best you can usually expect is to improve your finish by around six or seven slots form your starting position.

That makes sense when you stop to consider that you are part of a new low-budget racing team and your team does not even own its own facilities. You don’t own a machine shop, hell you don’t even own a Garage!

You also do not own a cutting-edge car. What you have is what the bare minimums for NASCAR allow. Sure, all the other low-end newbie racers are in the same frame with the same engine, but the big boys have refined their rides (within the rules mind you) and have a support system that is set up to provide them the exact required services that make their car a force to be feared on the track.

When you race under Race Mode you should notice that it is not simply an opportunity to race as your favorite racer. Each of the races has minimal performance requirements before the player can advance Track Ratings, so that you have to hit Speed Requirements to get to the next level on that track. That means that for each racer, and for each track, there are ten levels to be mastered.

The lesson you learn from this is that, in the end, and as you build a career in the sport, you are also building a team. That means infrastructure and a racing support system. That means creating the circumstances that are required to perform like Jimmie Johnson or Erik Jones – because Joe Gibbs Racing or Hendrick Motorsport did NOT get where they are over night!

As you slowly make your way through the first year and season of your career, you will find that racing at this level and in this sport has more in common with chess than it does driving a car very fast along an oval track.

Races are lost not from one big mistake, but as a result of a number of very small mistakes that add up into a detrimental performance arc. That lesson will be learned by every gamer who plays NACAR Heat Evolution, and that alone makes this a treasure in the genre because we can’t remember a game that tried and also succeeded at including that part of the sport in game play.

So what about the young bloods who come out and set the sport on fire you ask? Generally when you see a Cinderella story of a new Rookie racer in NASCAR – who is not Burt Reynolds – finishing races in the Top-3 slots and carving out a freshman year victory at one of the bigger series the reality is very different from the narrative being spun.

That racer is on a well-established team with all the tech and big budgets, and is racing finely tuned high-end NASCAR frames. They don’t have facility or money issues – they are basically the Sid Viscous of NASCAR – on stage to be seen, not because they earned it.

When you return to career mode the first few races are going to be very frustrating for you because you are not going to have that experience of starting in 40th Place and quickly carving a path through the pack to finish first like you did in that Race where you are in the #48 Lowes Chevy racing as Jimmie Johnson for Hendrick Motorsport. No, you’re YOU, racing for a bottom-end team, on bottom-end kit, and with practically ZERO facilities!

But see, that is the point. That is what makes the climb to the top and ending up among the legends all the more sweet!

So there you have it – it is a long haul game process, you are not going to achieve major success overnight. Contrary to how it may sound, I consider that one of the Pro’s for this game.

Now as for the Con’s – even though the dev team has been responsive and has addressed a lot – actually most – of the issues that first appeared when the game was released, there are some elements that they either have not or can not remove or alter. Among those are the Team Engineer in your ear during every race.

To characterize that experience as being worthless is to just scratch the surface. Considering that he basically calls out very obvious facts that you are already aware of, and that often he will give you advice – like “Stay High!” that is actually bad advice, well, you’ll forgive me for declaring him worthless once you have had to listen to him for a dozen races.

Then there is the Character Building system. In the end, and considering the fact that you don’t actually get to SEE your character after you have created them, what was the point?

One of the biggest issues for the game is not something that is in it – but something that is NOT.

I am speaking of stats screens. Results. It would be really helpful to be able to look at and view our stats for performance on each track – how well we did in Turns, how well we did overall. That would give us a clue on what we need to work on. But it does not exist. Perhaps they will read this and decide to add it – I hope so – because despite its early failure, NASCAR: Heat Evolution has rapidly become my favorite racing game.

After playing through the career and really probably playing more than was quite right, I found that the game earned a very solid 7 out of 10, and none of the points it lost were technical points. That is to say that the game lost nothing from the first five points of the score, which is where we apply all of the technical requirements – does it function? Does it have game-breaking bugs? NASCAR: Heat Evolution made it through the first half of the review assessment with flying colors.

Where it lost points was in the Entertainment and Interface portion of the review assessment. It lost one full point for the issues that involve the menu system, and the failure to include basic stats. It lost another full point from the horrible manner in which the Character development and between-race times were so badly managed. Basically it lost that point for the absence of content that clearly should have been present.

The final point is actually a half-point loss for two different issues. A half-point was deducted for the decision to treat the in-game audio as an afterthought and to subject the player with that horrible team engineer — and no way to turn him off.

If you actually look in the Sound Settings under the Options Menu you will see that there IS a slot for that – Spotter – Bobby Labonte – but it is locked. You cannot change it or turn it off. So we are guessing that Bobby is somebody at NASCAR’s nephew.

The second half-point was deducted because of the failure of the tutorial mode. I mean that literally. The tutorial mode was a failure – all it did was teach you how to push the go-button. It failed to cover any of the items of obvious value such as adding various status displays to the screen, and the crucial importance of working towards the Team Menu Upgrades. If a player plays the game using only the set of information that is communicated in the tutorial they will be in 30th position overall for their entire career. Very sad.

I expect though that players serious about the genre are going to go into the game and find those elements themselves as soon as practical.

NASCAR: Heat Evolution is one of those games that really does not officially end. So after playing through the first season determining an Average Play Time in order to arrive at the Average Admission Price was more difficult a process than you might think. Even more so as it depends on a number of other factors not usually associated with the process, including how likely it is that a player will quit out of frustration?

There are 26 races leading up to the Sprint Cup – that presumes of course that you place high enough in score overall to qualify for the Sprint Cup. If not – and chances are not for your first two or three seasons – you will race alternate races from Race 27 to the end of the season.

Taking into consideration the average time racing, plus the average of 2 hours spent playing with Challenges, an hour with Racing from the Race selection, and the practice times typical for most players, then multiplying all of that by seasons, we reached a compromise estimated play time of around 55 hours to see your character reach the point where they are actually upon an even playing field – after which it is anyone’s guess how long the typical player will continue to race?

Still with an arrived upon average of 55 hours we end up with an estimated Average Admission Price of .90 cents an hour – a very respectable rating. Thanks in no small part to the necessity to play through a minimum of two seasons NASCAR: Heat Evolution gets a high replay score.

Parents: This game has been properly rated at E (for Everyone). The Career portion of the game does not contain content that is worrisome, however it should be noted that the online multi-player portion cannot be rated, since it potentially includes uncontrolled unforeseeable contact between the player and other players.

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A review code of this game for the XBox One was provided by Dusenberry Martin Racing

Video games publisher and developer Capcom announced today Marvel VS. Capcom: Infinite, the return of the highly revered action-fighting game series.

Marvel and Capcom universes collide like never before as iconic characters team up for action-packed player-versus-player combat. Marvel VS. Capcom: Infinite is currently in development and will simultaneously release on the PlayStation, Xbox One, and Windows PC worldwide in late 2017.

“For the last two decades, Marvel vs. Capcom has been one of the most celebrated franchises among fans,” says Mike Jones, Executive Producer at Marvel Entertainment.

“To deliver on that legacy, we’ve worked closely with Capcom to create a game that honors the heritage of the series and combines Marvel’s unique brand of storytelling with Capcom’s world-class gameplay. We’re raising the bar with Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite and are excited for players to get their hands on it next year.”

Imagined and created through a shared vision between the two companies, Marvel VS. Capcom: Infinite features a variety of exciting and accessible single player modes and rich multi-player content for new players and longtime fans alike.

In addition to single player Arcade, Training, and Mission modes, a visually stunning and immersive cinematic Story Mode puts players right at the center of both universes, as they battle for survival against a sinister new threat.

“It was deeply inspiring for our development team to join forces again with Marvel and we can’t wait for our fans to experience the benefits of that collaboration first hand,” says Michael Evans, Director of Production for Capcom USA.

Marvel VS. Capcom: Infinite is being built to highlight a combination of iconic and fan favorite characters and stages from both universes, including Captain Marvel and Iron Man from the Marvel side, and Ryu and Mega Man X from Capcom.

More characters, stages, modes, and features will be revealed in the coming months.

Tune in to ESPN2 on Sunday at 5:30PM PST (8:30 EST), 4 December during the Capcom Cup 2016 broadcast for an exclusive first look of extended game play via the newest trailer from Marvel VS. Capcom: Infinite.

In anticipation of the new game, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is being re-released for current generation systems; with the “PlayStation 4” digital download version available today and the Xbox One and Windows PC versions coming in March 2017.

Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 for current-gen systems includes a new gallery mode, is packed with all previous DLC, and features an improved 1080p resolution at 60 frames per second. The re-release of Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is being offered as an individual download title on all systems for $24.99.

Video game publisher and developer Capcom today announced the release of a new trailer for Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, providing additional glimpses at the horrors awaiting main character Ethan Winters, who has been led to a mysterious abandoned plantation in search of his missing wife.

Flashes of disturbing scenes tease the terrifying experience players can expect from the next entry in the renowned survival horror series.

In addition, Capcom today confirmed that the Resident Evil 7 Teaser: Beginning Hour demo that has enamored millions of fans will receive a final update called “Midnight,” which opens new paths and content for players to enjoy.

The updated demo will be available for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 4 Pro and PlayStation VR starting tonight. The demo – in its complete form – will make its debut on Xbox One on 9 December and Steam on 19 December. The new trailer for the game and screens from the “Midnight” demo update are now available for viewing.

Resident Evil 7 Biohazard will be available for PlayStation 4 (the full game will also be available to play via the included optional PlayStation VR mode), Xbox One and Windows PC (Steam and Windows 10 Store) when it launches across Europe and North America on 24 January 2017.

The wizards at Atlus Studios have been putting out a lot of Retail Boxed Edition Persona 5 news recently, but clearly they have not forgotten about the gamers who prefer the digital download format — this morning they announced that digital pre-orders for the game are now live on the PlayStation Network.

With versions of the game for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, the digital downloads come with the “Protagonist Special Theme & Avatar Set” to help fans show their allegiance to the Phantom Thieves with a dynamic theme and three avatars that features the very mischievous protagonist ready to take your heart.

This allows players to unleash the awesome power of Persona 4′s Izanagi upon the various evil shadows that lurk in the world of Persona 5. The set includes a unique Picaro version that dresses up Izanagi to match the stylish members of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, and how cool is that?

Persona 5 is a game about the internal and external conflicts of a group of troubled youth who live dual lives. They have the typically ordinary day-to-day of a Tokyo high-schooler forced to attend classes at their school – and the typical after school activities and part-time jobs — but they are often frustrated by the fact that they know what is really going on in the world – and it’s a world most adults would wet themselves if they knew about it!

Undertaking fantastical adventures by night using otherworldly powers to enter the hearts of people, these heroes draw their power from the Persona – a Jungian concept of the “self” that comes from within and through which our heroes realize that society forces people to wear masks to protect their inner vulnerabilities, and by literally ripping off their protective masks and confronting their inner selves do the heroes awaken their own powers.

Using their powers to help those in need, a peaceful world simply cannot exist without their personal sacrifices – and ultimately this group of Phantom Thieves seeks to change their day-to-day world to match their perception and see through the masks modern-day society wears.

Persona 5 will release on 4 April 2017 in the Americas and Europe on both PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 — with digital and RBE pre-orders now available both online and at participating retailers for either version of the game.

Don’t go anywhere yet! We’re not finished! Because we’ve also got a brand-new Persona 5 story trailer – embedded above – that fills you in on the tragic story details of main protagonist

After having his life ruined, our hero must start anew as the newest transfer high-school student at Tokyo’s Shujin Academy. However, he’ll soon discover that he has the ability to enter the hearts of people and force them to confront their true selves (for better or worse).

With his newly discovered powers, the protagonist and his raucous group of outcast friends form the Phantom Thieves of Hearts to help unmask the ills of society.

It’s only a matter of time before their actions become noticed by undesirables, so will they be able to bring justice to everyone who deserves it in time?

Persona 5 Limited Edition Boxed Sets

You’ll be thrilled to learn that Persona 5 is arriving with a pair of Limited Edition Boxed Sets! The details of the two limited PS4 editions of the games are below:

SteelBook Launch Edition

For PlayStation 4 only ($59.99/CA$79.99) – so sorry PS3 Owners! Time to upgrade your deck!

Available only to PS4 pre-orders and a limited number of day-one purchases, while supplies last, the SteelBook Launch Edition includes its specially packaged SteelBook collectible case (well of course it does! It would not be CALLED a SteelBook Edition if it didn’t!) emblazoned with Persona 5 designs.

Selected for our Annual 12 Games of Christmas Feature – a gift buying guide for choosing gifts for the Gamers and Geeks among your loved ones this holiday season!

Introduction

Doom 2016 is a first-person shooter video game that was developed by id Software and published by Bethesda Softworks in May 2016 with versions for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

Officially designated as a reboot of the Doom series, Doom 2016 is the fourth title in the main series and the first title since Doom 3 (2004).

In the game the players takes on the role of an unnamed space marine – but it is pretty clear that it is the same protagonist from the previous games in the series who has been magically frozen in time by the demons of hell after he was captured.

Thanks to archaeologists from Union Aerospace Corporation (the PoliCorp that owns and operates the martian mines) who found the sarcophagus that our hero was sealed into and broke those seals, we once again get to battle the demonic forces from Hell – or rather we are set to battle a new wave of said forces who were inadvertently (as far as we know) unleashed by the UAC at their new colony on Mars.

This all new take on the classic Doom franchise was originally announced as Doom 4 in 2008, and underwent an extensive and complicated development cycle using different builds for different platforms before finally being scrapped and restarted anew in 2011 – when it was officially revealed as simply “Doom” and declared a series reboot.

One consequence of this was the belief by players that it would be a retelling of the original game – but that turned out to not be the case – though some levels from the original game do appear as bonus and reward content.

Despite the fact that this really is an all-new game with an all-new approach to the genre and series, there are enough familiar faces (enemies) and kit (weapons) to leave us happily nostalgic. Put it another way – when the UAC archaeology team wakes us up, they not only free our body, but they also free our special almost-living armor which is returned to us for our killing adventures (thankfully), despite their seeming inability to reverse-engineer it.

Add to that familiar bit of kit a whole collection of familiar weapons and there is good reason to feel nostalgic over this reboot. Really the only question – and it is a nagging question whose answer you literally have to tear out of the person responsible for it – is how the connection to hell was reopened and WHY that happened? In fact much of the story and plot revolve around you gaining that information through revelations, clues, and conflict.

Still, it’s all good – because regardless of the desires of the over-demons of hell, the Marine is here to save the day, kill the demons that made it through the portal, and then take the fight direct to hell where he not only does a pretty good job at thinning out the demon population there, but in the end manages to close that new portal despite a concerted effort on the part of the ruling demons – and their human partners – to prevent that.

All of which contributes to the realization that Doom 2016 is the best story, adventure, and challenge that id has produced in a very long time!

Game Play

Thanks to the focus being fully committed to an FPS approach and the game’s esprit de corps mixing an upbeat rock underscore, the overall game play feels faster (it is) and more connected to the violence being unleashed by the still unnamed Space Marine protagonist.

Constructed of a series of open-ended levels that spanned together tell a fairly deep story that encourages suspension of disbelief early on, despite being all new content in an all new game world using a brand new game engine, Doom 2016 manages to firmly connect itself via its fast-paced game play to the original two games, surpassing them in its commitment to supporting a stealth-survival-horror standard.

In addition to its solid story and level construction, game play benefits from a sort of environment traversal that leaves the player feeling like this is not a rail-based adventure (even though it is) – and the unique approach to the character upgrades system, weapons, and skills development also contribute to a much more robust sense of play and strategy freedoms.

No examination of game play for this title would be complete (or proper) without specifically noting the vast variety of execution animations that have been fully enmeshed into both the character and the story. On some levels – thanks to commentary and enthusiastic execution of those signature “glory-kill” moves, we are left feeling like we’re playing as Duke Nukem’s far brighter and more clever brother.

The formal game play structure was clearly and intentionally focused upon the single-player story and campaign mode, though it should be noted that the game does have a fully functional online multi-player mode (though not connected to the story play) as well as a level editor built into it.

A key element of game play in Doom 2016 is the requirement for the player to remain constantly moving forward, constantly on the attack, and constantly seeking to accomplish the stated goals for each of the levels. What that means literally is that this is not a game in which the player can afford to think about finding someplace to rest and recuperate, because that is a sure recipe for death.

Into that rather unique game play requirement has been built a system for maintaining health and resources that really only works if the player commits to playing the game as intended – which is to say as a fast-paced and uber-violent shooting fest!

Restoring your health – and obtaining more ammunition – are two tasks that are accomplished not by seeking out drops but rather by killing enemies! So the more demons you kill and the faster you kill them, the better off you are (both in terms of health and resources).

That may sound odd when we say it here, but that system really works well in the actual game and game play to the extent that we often found ourselves wondering what the first three games might have been like with such a system in place? Sadly a significant portion of the older player-base seems to have found that new system something of a betrayal to the old and well-established play styles from the previous games.

We suspect – no, we know! – that if you arrive at Doom 2016′s start screen with an open mind and a willingness to be pleased, you will find that you are pleased, and that this new system is far from being a betrayal, and in fact is an improvement!

Once you tack on the new overhauled weapons system – which in addition to adding new fire modes for the weapons also includes a progression scheme and the capability to fire overcharged super-powred shots (when you create the right conditions) and what you have is an arsenal that has kept pace with the new game play style. And that can only be a good thing.

My Take

Usually when you find yourself leaning towards emphasizing what is new about a game reboot that is a bad sign – but in the case of Doom 2016 nothing could be further from the truth. The new gameplay mechanics and the constant chaos that they foment are such that they instantly catapult this Doom to a whole new level in terms of both the series and the character of our beloved Space Marine.

It is fair to say that, after the tutorial phase — and more important once we understood the point to that new killing strategy — we were left with a rather stunned if mysterious grin on our face that was sufficiently odd and unexpected enough to cause other people in the room to grow a bit nervous of us upon witnessing it.

That silly grin though? That was our brain overloading on dopamine.

Look mates it is important that you fully grok both the sincerity in that observation and the true meaning of it. So bear with me while I explain.

In the brain, dopamine functions as a neurotransmitter — that is to say as a chemical that is released by neurons (nerve cells) sending signals to other nerve cells in the body and brain. While there are many distinct dopamine pathways in our brains, the one we are talking about is the pathway that plays a major role in the brain recognizing and triggering reward-motivated behavior.

See most types of rewards of this sort increase the level of dopamine in the brain, and you need to know that repetitive triggering of that pathway pretty closely mimics the effects of most addictive drugs – which also increase dopamine neuronal activity.

So what we are saying here is that the new game play mechanics, the new combat system, the new weapons system, and newly created and updated versions of familiar enemies basically has created an addictive and pleasure-inducing process in the brain.

Yeah, we’re saying this game is a drug. A good drug. But a very addictive drug – because once you start playing you are not going to want to stop. That said though, even when you do make yourself stop you end up feeling pretty good about your accomplishments in the game. In fact the farther into the story you get, the better you feel. So how about that?

So here is the thing – this game could potentially be a problem for you. I can easily see players going through the entire story in one long run, even if that means staying awake for two days and sticking to food you can quickly cram in your mouth. That’s a bad thing mates. So we here at Game On strongly encourage you to set limits BEFORE you start to play.

Doom 2016 should be played – and enjoyed – in small chunks. In fact it would not be saying too much to suggest that you only play it a chapter at a go. Make your session plan that single chapter, play it, and then rotate to a different game, and don’t come back until at least a day later! That way you get the full measure of satisfaction (and you don’t risk major addiction). We’re just saying it is that fun.

Let’s be crystal clear here – because we played this game to both review it and write the walkthrough guide for it, we could not follow our own advice. Wish that we could have – that would have stretched out our enjoyment of the game over a week or more. Sigh.

In the process of playing in-depth because of this, we obtained a far more expansive knowledge of and impression of the game. That also caused us to notice a few less-than-good elements which we are now going to cover.

While the wizards behind this game seemed to do everything right in terms of the story, plot, sub-plots, and mechanics, the one thing that they did not do right was the implementation of the in-game map. Heck it may as well not be there – it is that useless.

Thanks to we know-not-what whoever was charged with crafting the map ended up creating what is more of an idea of a map. A suggestion of a map. A map that you absolutely can NOT rely upon to get you into – and more important – OUT of any zone with any reliability.

When you access the map because you are lost, well, you’re still lost! There are strategic elements that it should show and yet it does not. Like blocked corridors that according to the map should be open. Like areas on the map connecting to other areas but, when you arrive at the connecting points they don’t actually connect! Yeah, it’s pretty useless.

That is a problem – a big problem – because if you have not memorized the level layout (and that will only happen after multiple play-throughs mates) you are pretty much doomed to flailing around and trying route after route until you happen to get lucky and stumble on the right one.

That map implementation cost the game a full point.

What cost it another full point was the Multi-Player side, which man I hate to say this but… Which we can only assume was phoned in.

Seriously – after the great care and creativity that was used in creating the campaign mode, you would think that at least an equal level of care and creativity would have gone into the MP side, right? Well, no, not so much really.

What we got was a bland almost formula MP experience that was clearly a regurgitation of maps from other games – and an uninspired play style that basically rewards repetition not innovation. And that was certainly sufficient reason to deduct that point.

Now with all of that noted, we want to emphasize that this IS the Doom we’ve been waiting for. It is literally packed to bursting with that sort and level of gruesome and gory bloody action that makes Doom Doom. Considering that it sports one of the finest collections of monsters and bosses ever, and it offers up a pretty decent subsystem of mini-games and collectibles – not to mention its Achievements system – plenty of arena battle play, and a playable but slightly disappointing MP side, and what we get is worth the getting mates.

But in the end, and after really trying to find ways to restore those points (and failing) we found that Doom 2016 earned a very solid and respectable 8 out of 10 – which is NOT bad mind you; but then we wistfully sigh for how much better it could have been… If…

While the campaign mode is by no means abbreviated, the typical player is going to find — and when we say typical player we actually mean a gamer who is interested in unlocking the Achievements and completing the collections, while all-around seeking the immersion that comes with reading the lore and back-story objects, listening to the conversations… The typical player is going to find that they will complete the story in something like 25 hours of play.

So with an Average Play Time of 25 hours — and considering that the MSRP for the game is a proper $39.99 — the game gets an Average Admission Price of $1.59 an hour – which is actually a fairly steep figure and a lot more than what we usually hope to see. Ah, but fortunately for Doom there are some mitigating factors to take into consideration.

That 25 hours only factors the FIRST play-through – you will actually be playing through the game at least twice (if not three times) since you will want to play through at the higher difficulty because in addition to making the game more interesting and challenging, it also justifies the only strategy we have for dealing with the crappy map in the game – which is to play through on either normal or hard because you HAVE to in order to unlock the Ultra-Nightmare difficulty.

So in the end the bad map actually works in our favor if you think about it – because (A) you have to play through the game to the end in order to unlock Ultra-Nightmare Difficulty, and (B) you cannot play through it on the lower level without getting a more than average fair familiarity with the levels and their layout anyway!

So yeah, there is that.

With respect to its Replay Score, here is the thing. While you will have to play through once to unlock UND and then play through it on UND for the LOLs, Doom is one of those rare games that you can then pop onto your game library shelf and let it sit and mature for a few months, then pop it back into your console and get just as much fun and satisfaction from beating it again! Remember we warned you about the whole dopamine / reward / addiction thing. Don’t say we didn’t!

So taking all that into consideration, Doom 2016 actually gets a very high Replay Score, which considering it is a AA-Title that is already at a discounted MSRP – and considering that the two-play-through requirement adjusts the Average Admission Price from $1.59 to roughly .79 cents an hour (a much MUCH better amount), what we have here is a winnah!**

That’s our review of Doom 2016 – and now that we think upon it, it’s been three months since we last played it so, if you will excuse us, we are going to slot that puppy and start kicking demon butt! See ya!

Parents: This game has been properly rated by the ESRB as M (for Mature) which means it contains content that may be suitable for persons ages 17 and older. Doom 2016 contains intense violence, blood and gore, a limited measure of sexual content of a freaky nature, and strong language. There is implied drug use. While a well-adjusted 16-year-old gamer will likely not encounter anything in the game that is likely to be problematic, we believe that the M for Mature rating in this case is deserved and should be followed.

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**“Winnah” is a South Boston word whose translation into English is: “Hay Ho Old Chap, This is a most excellent and entertaining game that is well worth the cost and what is more, it’s addictive as hell!” or something to that effect.

Selected for our Annual 12 Games of Christmas Feature – a gift buying guide for choosing gifts for the Gamers and Geeks among your loved ones this holiday season!

Introduction

The freshman project for Australian game development studio League of Geeks, Armello was initially developed as a digital role-playing strategy board game for the iPad in September of 2012.

As an independent game studio, between April and May of 2014 in order to fund the game’s forward development, League of Geeks opted to create a Kickstarter Campaign to extend the game for a port to Steam and GOG.com, as well as begin the process of porting it to Android and a version for Windows Tablet PCs. That campaign was a success, and on the tails of it LoG ended up being offered government funding from both Screen Australia, and Film Victoria, the national and state arts funding agencies in Australia.

In consequence of that funding – and sales of the various versions – in addition to the mobile versions that already existed, the game was eventually ported to a variety of platforms including Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

The game world is a richly illustrated dark fairy tale Kingdom called Armello, and each of the eight hero characters offers a deep and interesting inferred story of its own, with abilities and special stat bonuses unique to each. The world is also rich in sound effects and features a background score by composers Lisa Gerrard and Michael Allen that delivers a very compelling mood throughout its day and night themes as well as distinct combat moments.

While the game is characterized as a digital board game, in fact its structure and depth go way beyond what one would expect from such a game genre.

The movement, combat, buffing and de-buffing scheme certainly fits in with the modern board game, but the addition of character classes and a series of unlockable items and objects that offer their own special buffs tends to set the game apart.

Add to that the cleverly crafted Trophy and Achievement scheme for Xbox and PlayStation, and you end up with a game that offers far more than its genre suggests. That combination of elements and the visually stunning game world easily explains how the game could end up receiving government funding for its development from arts councils.

Game Play

A four-player game that is set in a fantasy world in which anthropomorphic animals play the roles of heroes belonging to one of the four unique animal clans, the primary objective and plot for the story is the need for one of the heroes to take over as the King or Queen following the madness of the current ruler — who has been infected by a disease called The Rot.

The game is loosely structured as a turn-based board-game with mechanics that should be familiar to anyone who has ever played a popular board game – from Monopoly to Ticket to Ride – with a combination of both dice and card game elements thrown in that reminds us of both those games and perhaps Mille Bornes.

Like Mille Bornes there are bonuses inherent to playing your cards strategically – countering the threats and traps placed by the other heroes or the mad king with them on an encounter-by-encounter basis for a better outcome overall.

Up to four players assume the role of one of the eight Hero characters representing specific animal clans, each with its own unique characteristics and strengths, the goal being to build up their character’s stats and abilities through questing and treasure hunting as well as battles in order to storm the castle and win the crown, becoming the new ruler of the kingdom.

The game play world is a board divided into hexagon-shaped tiles that contain randomly generated unique territories — treasure dungeons, villages, mountains, swamps and fields – each of which can become the designated location for the quests that the players draw.

In addition to completing quests, taking over certain tiles adds to the player revenue stream, as well as potentially adding to their stats and strategic position. All the while they are also doing combat with their rival heroes, the Kings Guard, and Rot Creatures, as they try to capture settlements, add cards to their inventory, and improve their stats and dice rolls.

The game is played using a modified turn-based system in which players are permitted to complete certain actions – like buffs, de-buffs, and equipping items while the other players (including AI players) are completing their turns – which helps to speed up game play overall.

The combination of dice and cards is used to both interact with the game world, and permit strategic battling when the player gets into a combat event, which is one of several differences in the video game treatment of what was obviously originally planned out as a traditional board game.

Magical spells, recruiting followers, and healing as well as using items that grant abilities come from the card side of the game, as do the “Perils” and traps – which represent the darker side of the magic in play.

The cards are either used in combat as immediate effects or can be laid in the path of the rival heroes to function as traps. Some cards permit the player to form temporary alliances between clans, while others can be used to speed up travel, allowing the player to move more than the usual three tiles during a single turn.

The day/night cycle in the game is part of the unique stats and abilities system, which gives certain heroes either an advantage or disadvantage based upon the time of day, with certain groups of enemies only appearing either at night or during the day as well.

Mastery of game play brings with it a deeper understanding of the different strategies for winning – which while direct action in particular is emphasized, also allows for strategic and even passive victories once the player has managed the learning curve and come to grasp the real value in the passive side of play.

My Take

In the interest of full disclosure and transparency I should probably admit that I really like this game. It did not start out that way though. In fact it’s fair to say that for the first hour or so of play I didn’t find Armello all that attractive or entertaining – but it turned out that a major part of the reason for that had to do with not understanding the nuances of play.

One element that made it less than fun at first was a lack of understanding about the ways that the game NPC characters – and in particular the other Heroes and the King’s Guard – could force play on you. Or the fact that there is a timer that I still think is too short for setting up card use once battle is engaged.

Now with that duly noted, Armello turned out to be one of those sleeper hit type games in which the basic game play elements are flashy enough so that when you first begin playing the game they are pretty much all that you see. So it makes sense that on the face of it it may seem to be a lot shallower than it truly is.

Once you actually start to play and, more to the point, once you start to experience the various win conditions and strategies that lead me to describe it as a game of nuanced play, it very quickly grows on you to the point that it not only increasingly grows interesting, it also gets a LOT harder to stop playing!

Despite those early disadvantages, the fact that such games – once you get past the early impediments – tend to have a very strong and enduring attraction for most players. That being so, one has to wonder why more games developers are not making games like this?

The bottom line is that if you happen to be a gamer who enjoys a combination of RPG and Digital-Puzzle Board Games in both play style and implementation, when you give Armello a fair go you are going to find a game you like and enjoy playing – possibly to your detriment as it is a lot easier to say to yourself “just one more game” than it is “I need to do the laundry!”

I suspect that the trick here is going to be getting players to try out the game so that they have an opportunity to experience its unique game play and game world sufficiently to get hooked. Though once they do that – once they are hooked – the real difficulty is going to come in trying to get them to stop playing the game – and I speak from experience.

The tutorial phase of game play takes place in the entirety of the game Prologue Chapter, which does a pretty good job of teaching the basics for the four clans, and one of their two members.

The tutorial phase is largely focused upon the most basic elements of game play; actually obtaining a sense of the deeper and more strategic game play elements requires exploring game play with the other clan members as well.

Once I got past the initial confusion of the basic combat elements and reached the deeper waters that swirl just beyond that point, none of my game play sessions with Armello lasted less than four hours -in fact it is fair to say that I spent far more time playing this for “review” purposes than was quite right or natural.

That alone is a pretty good indicator for the game – which after we played it thoroughly we find earns a very solid 9 out of 10.

Armello has no game-breaking bugs that we could find – we evaluated and played the Xbox One version of the game for this review – but that is not to say that it is bug free.

In fact the one significant issue we did find was a bit disheartening in that some of the Spell Cards and, specifically the ones that relate to Prestige Points for the game – are incorrect. An example is a card that states you will gain +1 Prestige for all heroes but that in fact deducts -3 Prestige from your hero if they happen to be leading in Prestige points!

While that is a nasty surprise – and we are sure is not what was intended – it does not actually break the game and, once you know about these little issues can easily be played around. So it’s all good. It’s worth noting though that with the one bug we did find being so trivial, that says that the game is solid through-and-through!

Armello has an MSRP of $19.99 US and we estimate that it has an Average Play Time of between 45 and 60 hours (much longer if you intend to unlock all of its Trophies / Achievements).

Taking that into consideration, that gives the game an Average Admission Price of just .33 cents an hour – which even in terms of a discounted game is an impressive number.

Parents: This game has been properly rated by the ESRB as E10+ (for Everyone 10 and Older) and contains nothing in it that you would need to be concerned about.

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A review copy of this game for the XBox One was provided by League of Geeks

Today Thrustmaster unveils the T300RS GT Edition, a device that takes full advantage of its official Gran Turismo license on PS4 and PS3 to elevate racing wheel technology to the highest modern standards and fully immerse players in the world of Sony Interactive Entertainment and Polyphony Digital’s masterclass series of driving simulation games: Gran Turismo.

The T300RS GT Edition combines the very best racing wheel technologies currently available on the market, a result of Thrustmaster’s extensive racing wheel experience that has brought the very best hardware to racing fans since 1993.

Advanced Technologies Under the Hood

Inspired by the passionate racing community and dedicated to their approach of developing a fully functioning hardware ecosystem, Thrustmaster is bringing this new and world class racing wheel to the market ahead of the release of PlayStation’s most anticipated racing game Gran Turismo Sport.

The T300RS GT Edition, an officially Gran Turismo licensed racing wheel, is built around perfectly harnessed technologies developed by Thrustmaster – including an industrial brushless motor offering full Force Feedback and 1080° degrees of rotation.

Racers will appreciate the controller’s flexibility, its smoothness, its ease of use and most importantly its responsiveness – not to mention the impressive level of realism delivered by the force feedback system.

The dual-belt system allows for the T300RS GT Edition’s flexibility and the most dedicated racers will truly appreciate the racing wheel’s silent turns and swerves as they tear around the race track. In addition to the flexibility and silent maneuverability offered by the brushless motor, the racing wheel boasts incredible precision delivered by the H.E.A.R.T (HallEffect AccuRate Technology).

To give racers the ability to take their skills to the next level, the T300RS GT Edition features a metal 3-pedal set including clutch, brake and accelerator. Designed to offer even greater immersion and realism, the pedal set ensures exceptional stability, meaning even the heaviest foot movements during the most intense racing maneuvers will not dislodge these pedals.

The set also features adjustable, long-travel metal pedals where the height and spacing position of the accelerator and clutch pedals can be adjusted. To simulate racing authenticity, the brake pedal offers progressive resistance. Brand new pedal heads were created specifically for this controller, featuring a unique design, exclusive to this special edition.

Tailored Technology at the Racers’ Fingertips

The T300RS GT Edition racing wheel is made from metal and features a rubber trim, with the whole wheel being fully detachable, courtesy of the Thrustmaster Quick Release system.

It features the official PlayStation 4 buttons (PS, SHARE, OPTIONS) offering instant access to the system’s menus and social features. Boasting an 11″ / 28 cm diameter and a metal central hub, the racing wheel delivers maximum realism, that is also supported by its weight, at no less than 2.6 lbs. / 1.2 kg.

Perfectly suited to the force feedback ratio, the racing wheel’s weight feels as true-to-life as possible. With metal paddle shifters attached to the racing wheel, measuring 5″ / 13 cm in height, and a tact switch tested for over 500,000 activations, gear changes will always be extremely quick and efficient, enabling racers to shave precious fractions of a second off each lap time.

The device offers deep customization allowing racers to assign multiple functions to the 13 action buttons and directional buttons. With a rotation angle adjustable from 270° to 1080°, the T300RS GT Edition allows racers to hone their skills with every type of car. Always making sure to deliver an ultra-realistic racing experience, this racing wheel can easily be fitted to desks, tables, and also mounted in a cockpit.

The T300RS GT Edition will allow racers to hone their skills with a brand new racing wheel, officially licensed by the world class Gran Turismo franchise, before the release of the highly anticipated newest entry in the series Gran Turismo Sport.

In addition to the T300RS GT Edition, a new very high-end racing wheel positioned above the T500RS, designed for competitive eSports in close collaboration with the game’s creator, Mr. Kazunori Yamauchi, will be available at Gran Turismo Sport’s launch.

Games development studio Lion Shield today announced that the status of its freshman project — the upcoming medieval castle-and-village-building video game Kingdoms and Castles — has reached its funding goal of US $15K in roughly 2 hours on the Fig crowd-funding website and service.

Kingdoms and Castles began its funding campaign on Fig to raise $15,000 for the development, publishing, and release of the game on PC and Mac with a Spring ’17 window.

Currently being developed by its two-man team of veteran wizards (Pete Angstadt and Michael Peddicord) who have some significant code-slinging props, having been associated with successful game projects in the past (acclaimed indie games Abzu, Journey and Cannon Brawl) as well as EA’s Spore and Boom Blox, so we’re talking about an experienced development team here.

According to Angstadt, Kingdoms and Castles is partially inspired by his time at games studio Maxis – working on games like SimCity, Stronghold, and Banished. K&C has its players building simulated cities while crafting a strategy to protect their peasants from a continually changing and dangerous world.

Having reached the base-goals for the game, a series of Stretch-goals are anticipated, incuding features like Twitch Integrated Gameplay, VR Support, and the like. As protagonist the players begin by creating small villages, which they expand to thriving cities whose population and infrastructure are protected by imposing castles.

As the game progresses, choices about strategic castle expansions, tax policies, farming, industry, religious institutions, defense and other important decisions determine whether their city thrives for fails.

Unlike other games that have come before, players in Kingdoms and Castles will both create a city and protect it from danger. Many other games have focused separately and exclusively on building or defending – not both.

The kingdoms face threats from a dynamic and dangerous world filled with vikings, plague, dragons, bitter winters and other challenges. The player’s strategy will determine if the viking raiders make off with their villagers or if they are stopped by a barrage of arrows at the castle gates!

For a more detailed view check out the official game home page, and watch the trailer we embedded above.